Ken and I had a very quiet Christmas at home with Samey. We all decided that there would be no fanfare...no tree or wreaths, no crazy cooking or cleaning. Just a quiet, relaxing Christmas.
It was wonderful to spend alone time with Sam...but it just didn't feel like Christmas. So, not because we strive to be different, but because we strive for an easy, non-stressful, non-traffic fighting, non-family juggling Christmas...we decided to do it right...in February.
Everything was planned out to perfection. The tree was up and decorated, the wreaths were adorned and hung, the cross beams and antler chandelier were decked in snowflakes and roping. Four meals were planned and Ken and I cooked and baked all day Friday to get as much done beforehand as possible. We brought out the leaves for the table, the bed linens were all pressed and fresh, plenty of towels were on hand for showers. Everything that could be done was done ahead of time so that we could enjoy our company once they arrived.
Samey, Ken and Diana, and Deb and Ben were all coming Saturday by lunchtime, but because Celia travels much better when she's sleeping, Melanie and Steve were coming Friday night, as soon as Melanie got home from work at around 7:30, with an ETA of 11:30 to midnight. But you know what inevitably happens when everything is planned to perfection. Right?
Something is sure to go awry.
At the last minute Melanie and Steve got a call that the condo was going to be shown that weekend, which was fine, except that Melanie was leaving for work in a half hour and you know how your house isn't at the peak of perfection when you are packing for a trip...especially a trip with a toddler in tow? But true to form, there was no panic going on over there. They would get things straightened up once Melanie got home from work and would leave about an hour later, pushing their ETA back an hour to 12:30 - 1:oo am.
I talked to Melanie at about 8:30. As it turned out, she wasn't finished with work when she anticipated she would be and was just on her way home then.
So, they didn't get out of the house until 10:00 pm. They made the pre-requisite stop at Dunkin' Donuts to load up on caffiene, plugged in Celia's nighttime music, and hit the road.
So, here we are in my kitchen on Saturday. Look how sweet she is. And tired...look how tired she is.
Guess why she's tired. C'mon...give it a guess!
Could it be because she was awake for the entire 4-1/2 hour trip, except for the last 15 minutes?
Oh, yeah. It could be that.
But she eventually cheered up after a good nap. I'll tell you one thing though, while the Christmas dress was adorable, this girl had no patience for ruffles and toole.
Quick...grab the camera, Nana. Get the pictures because this dress is history.
Ahhhh....we're all for comfort here, but please tell me why it's necessary to wear the tights on her hand?
Never mind. It was good to have something familiar once Santa showed up.
Was it a conscious plan to ignore him...will him away, in a sense?
Is he not understanding that she is not interested in ringing his bell?
Well, as long as he's gone, Mama can hang on to the bell and she'll handle the tights.
No...no. Not the bell.
Whoa...just one minute. This Santa is different than what she's seen before.
He literally does come bearing gifts...and then, better yet...goes away again.
Are you kidding?
More presents!
If it's safe, this needs to be investigated!
Yes!
Whoa!
Another reprieve.
Quick...check it out!
Holy Toledo!
She thinks she's likin' this silent, red man!
Bye, bye Santa! See you next year.
Good job, Samey! You always were the best Santa.
And now, there is important business to tend to.
A bucket of play dough!
If anyone thinks that a 21-month old child is not a master at wrapping paper...
I believe you're wrong.
No hesitation, no thought process at all, for that matter.
There was a lot of paper to attack and she was just the girl for the job.
Always a favorite...clothes. (She is definitely her mother's daughter.)
But there is more work to be done.
Elmo book!
A little stuffed Elmo!
Elmo is always cause for a slow down.
But there is more unwrapping to do, yielding yet more clothes.
Love the quality.
No one has ever enjoyed her gifts more than Celia that night. She even grabbed a phone and gave Santa a call to thank him...again and again!
She made tea for everyone in the house with the new tea set that Nanny and Pop Pop sent via Santa. The play dough rolling pin served as the milk container. Once it was ready, she served it to the lucky recipients, but you needed to drink it fast because the cups were getting rounded up pretty quickly.
It was just as much fun watching her the next morning, when she got up bright and early to dive into all this glory again.
Everything got re-examined.
Snaps and zippers were re-inspected.
It's very serious business, you know.
Feel free to document the process with pictures, Nana.
I'll just sit here looking adorable until you're through.
Once she reaffirmed that all her gifts were as they should be...
...it was time for some blueberries and yogurt.
Only about three or four bowls full.
During breakfast, she was demonstrating to me the face that the little boy in one of her books makes. Melanie said that she had looked over at Celia reading her book one day and Celia was looking at her with her head cocked to one side making a funny face. She said, "What are you doing, Celia?" and Celia pointed to the boy on the page and said, "Dat, Mama!"
Good job!
We all thought it was pretty funny.
Especially Celia.
All in all, it was a magical weekend
full of surprise and wonderment.
You would never know that anyone else was there, would you!
I'm going to have to work on that.
